- Because who doesn't want to learn more about weird origins of things?
Did you read 25 Things With Weird Origins: Part One? Because this is part two.
Champagne Sabering
Opening champagne with a sword may sound like an ancient military tradition, but it became associated with celebrations among French cavalry officers during the Napoleonic era. The bottle’s glass lip can be broken away along the seam.
The Frisbee
The modern Frisbee has an unusual connection to pie tins. Students and others tossed empty Frisbie Pie Company tins for fun. The idea eventually inspired commercial flying discs, with the name “Frisbee” becoming associated with the toy. Did you know this was one of the things with weird origins?
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ruth Wakefield, who ran the Toll House Inn, reportedly added pieces of chocolate to cookie dough expecting them to melt. Instead, the chocolate pieces retained much of their shape, producing what became the chocolate chip cookie.
Safety Pins
Walter Hunt invented the modern safety pin in 1849. Remarkably, he reportedly designed it partly to repay a debt. His invention combined a coiled spring with a clasp that protected the user’s fingers from the sharp point. Did you know this was one of the things with weird origins?
Toothbrushes
Early toothbrushes were made using materials such as animal hair. Modern nylon bristles appeared much later. The basic idea of attaching bristles to a handle, however, has existed in various forms for centuries.
The Traffic Light
Before automobiles dominated roads, traffic-control signals were already being used to manage horse-drawn traffic and pedestrians. One early gas-lit signal in London even exploded, killing its operator, demonstrating how experimental early traffic technology could be.
Potato Chips
A popular story says potato chips were created when chef George Crum repeatedly sliced potatoes extremely thin after a customer complained that his fried potatoes were too thick. The exact story is disputed, but Crum and Saratoga Springs are strongly associated with the chip’s history.
The Fortune Cookie
Despite its strong association with Chinese-American restaurants, fortune cookies appear to have developed in the United States, with Japanese-American bakers playing an important role in their early history. Did you know this was one of the things with weird origins?
Lollipops
The exact origin of the lollipop is uncertain, but versions of hard candy on sticks existed long before modern commercial brands. The basic idea may have developed simply because putting candy on a stick made it easier and cleaner to eat.
The Barcode
Barcodes originated from an attempt to automate grocery-store checkout. Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver developed an early system inspired partly by Morse code. Decades later, barcode technology became standard in supermarkets and countless other industries.
Rubber Ducks
The familiar yellow bath toy evolved from earlier floating rubber toys. Many weren’t designed specifically for bathing; they became popular after manufacturers discovered that buoyant rubber toys worked particularly well in bathtubs.
Matches
Early matches were dangerous chemical devices that could ignite unpredictably. The development of safer friction matches transformed fire-starting from a laboratory curiosity into an everyday convenience. Did you know this was one of the things with weird origins?
The T-shirt
T-shirts began largely as practical underwear. Workers and sailors appreciated their simplicity, but over the 20th century they gradually became everyday outerwear. Eventually, printed T-shirts became a major form of advertising, self-expression, and fashion.
The Pac-Man Ghosts
The ghosts in Pac-Man weren’t simply designed as generic monsters. Their different personalities and behaviors were deliberately created to make the game more interesting. Each ghost follows different movement tendencies, turning what looks like random chasing into a strategic puzzle.
What do you think of these weird origins? Tell us everything in the comments!